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by Aithonhttp://www.creternity.com/articles/images/art7pic1.jpg (broken link) When the great hero and general, Alexander, who was as great as the god Apollo and Zeus, left his troops here, he asked them to stay here in this land without changing their beliefs and traditions, their laws and culture until he returned from the battles in the East. This is a story that is told not in a village in Greece but on the the mountainsides of the great Hindu Kush. In this remote area of the northwestern region of Pakistan lives a peculiar tribe, the Kalash. The Kalash proclaim with pride that they are the direct descendents of Alexander the Great. There are many similarities between them and the Hellenes of Alexander the Great's time. Similarities such as religion, culture, and language reinforce their claims to Hellenic ancestry. http://www.creternity.com/articles/images/art7pic5.jpg (broken link) The Kalash are a polytheistic people, meaning that they believe in many gods. The gods that they believe in are the twelve gods of Ancient Greece which makes them the only people who continue this worship! Gods such as Zeus, the god of gods, Apollo, the god of the sun, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, are such gods that they pay homage to. Shrines which are found in every Kalash village remind us of the religious sanctuaries we would stumble across in Ancient Greece. They serve as houses of worship where prayers and sacrifices are offered. Oracles who played a major role in acting as mediators and spokespeople between the gods and the mortals still hold a position of importance in the social structure of the Kalash. Every question or prayer towards the gods is usually followed by a sacrifice of an animal. It is reminiscent of the sacrifices the Hellenes gave to the gods to assure them a victory over the city of Troy.